American Literature Timeline

By dutchthespian
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    The Enlightenment

    No concensus on beginning or end, but scholars simply use the beginning of the century and the French Revolution as convenient dates.
  • Jonathan Swift's GULLIVER'S TRAVELS published

    Jonathan Swift's GULLIVER'S TRAVELS published

    Couldn't find month or day.
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    Romanticism

    No days or months.
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    Rough estimate of when Transcendentalism occured

    Blurry on specific beginnings and endings. Although author's during the movement felt that it was dying by the late 1840's.
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe's UNCLE TOM'S CABIN published

    Harriet Beecher Stowe's UNCLE TOM'S CABIN published

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    Naturalism

    Rough estimate of years.
  • Mark Twain's THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN published

    Mark Twain's THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN published

    First released in England, and two months later in America. Couldn't find a specific day.
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    Rough estimate of when Modernism occured

    Due to the plethora of opinions on when this movement began and ended, this is a rough estimate of the era.
  • San Francisco Earthquake

    San Francisco Earthquake

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    Realism

    VERY blurry dates.
  • Period: to

    World War I

    Began in the summer of 1914, often said to be caused by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Ended when Germany agreed to a cease-fire.

  • "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost

    It's major because EVERY elementary school or middle school makes you read it.
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY published

    F. Scott Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY published

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    The Harlem Renaissance

    Always blurriness in span.....
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    The Great Depression

    Said to have began with the stock-market crash on October 29th, also known as Black Tuesday. Employment began to rise in May of 1938, although the Depression may not have been over yet.
  • Zora Neale Hurston's THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD published

    Zora Neale Hurston's THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD published

    Couldn't find a specific day or month.
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    World War II

    Agreed that it began with Germany's invasion of Poland. Ended with Japan signing surrender documents aboard a U.S. naval ship.
  • Period: to

    World War II

    Agreed that it began with Germany's invasion of Poland. Ended with Japan signing surrender documents aboard a U.S. naval ship.
  • Period: to

    The Beat Generation

    A generation of post-WWII writer's. Much like the other movements, there is not specific ending, however the ideals of The Beat Generation are very similar to those of post-modernism, and more specifically, hippies.

  • "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie

    I couldn't find the day or month.
    FUN FACT: Woodie Guthrie is my great grandfather - through a marriage, birth, divorce, different marriage, adoption, another divorce, and another marriage...in that order =D
  • J.D. Salinger's THE CATCHER IN THE RYE published

    J.D. Salinger's THE CATCHER IN THE RYE published

    Couldn't find a specific day, did however find month...and year.

  • "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley

    This is when "Hound Dog" was released. Couldn't find day.
  • J.R.R. Tolkein's LORD OF THE RINGS published

    J.R.R. Tolkein's LORD OF THE RINGS published

    This is the date the FIRST novel was published, however Tolkein submitted all three to be published at the same because the trilogy was orginally one book, broken up for economic reasons.

  • "Sestina" by Elizabeth Bishop

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    Magical Realism

    Looks at mundane, every day happenings through a magical, mysterious lens. Oh, and blurry dates....shows up in 1925, but not actually called magical realism until 1955. This movement is still happening
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    Vietnam War

  • "The Widow's Lament" in Springtime

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    Rough estimate of when Post-Modernism occured

    Similar to the Modernist era, there are a variety of opinions on when it actually started.
  • Martin Luther King Assassinated

    Martin Luther King Assassinated

  • Toni Morrison's SONG OF SOLOMON published

    Toni Morrison's SONG OF SOLOMON published

    Couldn't find day or month.
  • J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE published

    J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE published

  • Barrack Obama takes office

    Barrack Obama takes office